Jose Vega ended Saturday’s round with three bogeys, but played the front nine on the difficult El Camaleón Golf Club well enough to maintain his lead at the Latin America Amateur Championship.
Vega, the only player in Mayakoba, Mexico under par, shot a 72 Saturday and leads Abel Gallegos by two strokes after 54 holes.
Vega began his round confidently and was even par on the front nine, but said he struggled on the back nine due to windy conditions.
“It was a fairly complicated day with the wind, and then on the back nine, just mental struggle from 11 to 15,” Vega said. “I wasn’t hitting the ball quite well from the tee, but ended up making good up and downs and kept the ball in play on 15 through 18 and ended up shooting 1-over par, which isn’t too bad for the conditions of the round.”
Leaderboard: Latin America Amateur Championship
Vega sat T-5 after shooting an opening-round 74, but held the lead after the second round after carding a 65 on Friday.
First-round leader Ivan Camilo Ramirez sits T-3 with Gabriel Morgan Birke at 3 over.
Gallegos, who ended his third round with back-to-back birdies, looks forward to the challenge El Camaleón poses for a final 18 holes on Sunday as well as the opportunity to overtake Vega and finish with the win.
“I think having those birdies (on 17 and 18) at the end was very good because… it’s a very difficult stretch, and I think that tomorrow, the last nine holes are going to be key,” Gallegos said. “It’s going to be a very difficult stretch and even if you’re three or four strokes behind the leader, you can still win this tournament because of the difficulty that those nine holes have.”
Vega and Gallegos tee off their final rounds from the first tee Sunday at 9:03 a.m. ET along with Ivan Camilo Ramirez.
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